New Valley Junction Grocery Co-op is a Natural Fit for West Des Moines

By word of mouth, the tasty morsels of news spread quickly: The organic meat and succulent produce that visitors crave at the weekly would be available six days a week and, depending on seasonal availability, year-round.

And by the time Tallgrass Grocery Co-op opened last month at 116 Fifth St., some 700 people had signed up as members.

The grocery store brings more than new business to Valley Junction in West Des Moines. The market also creates an additional outlet for fresh, locally and regionally grown food and the opportunity for customers and co-op members to get up close and personal with the producers.

Yvonne Lusk of Indianola shops regularly at the co-op for Iowa-grown foods. “I just ate an organic rib eye … that I bought here," she said. "It was from a family farm near Mingo and it was excellent.”

On a recent visit, she was looking for more organic produce. “The prices are reasonable, very much like prices at a farmers’ market,” she added. “We have a small garden, but we can’t grow everything, so we can come here."

Before the co-op opened, she purchased three memberships, one for herself, and one each for two grandchildren.

The overall goal is to create an outlet for local producers to sell their products, from meat and milk to vegetables,  said Carlyn Crowe, vice president of the Tallgrass Grocery’s board of directors, and one of the founding members.

“Ideally the products are coming from central Iowa," she said. "Realistically, we consider across the border into Missouri, for example, OK too. “The co-op’s mission includes providing foods that are organic or certified organic and grown without chemicals.

Tallgrass Grocery also aims to help customers know about and even meet the farmers producing what they eat. That’s why the night before the grand opening of the store, a gathering was held for co-op members and included as many producers as could make the event. Sally Troxell of Des Moines met a number of producers that evening and returned three times in the first week to purchase fresh produce.

“This is the way I think we should be moving. I think we should be securing and expanding our local 'foodshed' (like a watershed),” she explained. A co-op member, Troxell also served on the committee to find producers for the co-op before its opening.

The opening of the store in mid-September was the culmination of more than a year’s worth of work and an interest that grew from 11 people attending a meeting in June 2010 to determine whether there was enough interest, explained Linda Gobberdiel, the person who called the meeting with the idea and a member of the board.

No federal or state grants were used to help finance the venture. Money to start the co-op came from members and a bank loan, Crowe said.

Board members began selling memberships and decided that if they reached 200 they would open the store. In July, the membership swelled to more than 500. By the time Tallgrass Grocery opened, the membership reached 700, and continues to grow.

Along with the local and regional produce concept, Gobberdiel said the board also wants to serve the local community as much as possible, so there are a few staple grocery items, such as toilet paper and paper towels, kept in the store.

Although members support the store with one-time $100 memberships, anyone can walk in and purchase goods, said Christine McNunn, interim general manager. “We want to improve the local selling culture,” she said as she took a quick break from talking to one of the fresh vegetable suppliers.

The supplier, Jason Jones, said he couldn’t be happier about the new co-op.

“I’m excited, not just about this place, but all the new outlets beginning to open in Iowa ... and to see the local food scene growing in Iowa," said Jones, farm manager for The Homestead, a hands-on farm near Pleasant Hill run by adults and children with autism. 

The long retail space places much of the produce along the walls and across the back of the building. One set of shelves holds Iowa-made wines. The next set holds Iowa-made beer and soda. Along the opposite wall and across the back, coolers hold meat, milk and cheese products. Near the cash register, organic snacks and candies can be found. The fresh vegetables, gourds and lettuces are near the front of the store. Also in the front is a rack filled with breads from as many as five different producers.

“We know this isn’t a very big space to begin with,” Gobberdiel said. “We hope that we grow out of it, but this is a start.”

Details

Address: 116 Fifth St. in West Des Moines

Hours: Closed on Mondays; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Phone: (515) 277-7550